The Power of Sin

The Power of Sin

Paul said in Romans 7 that he does things he does not want to do. He says that if he does not want to do them, then it is no longer he who does it. He blames it on sin living in him. So, which is it? Is Paul the one doing it, or is sin the one doing it? The answer is that it is the power of sin that is in the world because of the fall. Paul, at the core of his being—his spirit—does not want to sin. Sin is in the world, however, and it entices us and tempts us. Sometimes we yield to the temptation and act as if we were still in the flesh.

We know that this power has been in the world since the fall. Romans 5:12–14 12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: 13 (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.

Look also at the way God refers to sin when speaking with Cain after he had killed his brother. Genesis 4:7 “If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.” Let me grab that from another translation.
Genesis 4:7 (NASB95) “If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.”

Do you see that? Sin is a power unto itself. This is what Paul is referring to when he talks about sin living in him. It is not part of his nature. It is part of the world. The door was opened to it by Adam, and it has been here ever since.